Marcus Aurelius: A Life

Marcus Aurelius (121–180 AD) is one of the great figures of antiquity whose life and words still speak to us today. His Meditations remains one of the most widely read books from the classical world, and his life represents the fulfillment of Plato's famous dictum that mankind will prosper only when philosophers are rulers. Based on all available original sources, Marcus Aurelius is the definitive biography to date of this monumental historical figure.

I found this book pompous, opinionated and sometimes inserting those opinions without really knowing what he was talking about.(I realize this makes me look pompous myself one example is a miniscule reference to autism without going into it further. Asberger syndrome may be a closer assessment with verification (I have no idea, other than reports of Aurelius earnest and serious nature), it is hard to imagine anyone with autism able to lead an empire or wage a war). He makes it very clear that he really did not like Marcus Aurelius, at least to me, and was not the most consciously aware writer either (I occasionally laughed out loud over ludicrous judgements) therefore making Aurelius a poor choice for McLynn, since Aurelius was someone who strove for just that (higher awareness). I do not feel McLynn was able to put his own mind into the times in which Aurelius lived. I read it from front to cover and then chucked it in the rubbish. It is a shame as there are so few biographies about him, the best to read, and where McLynn even says he uses much of his information from sources such as the Historia Augusta as well as the introduction to Meditations itself. The one star I rate this book is for effort, the writer clearly worked his ass off researching and I am sure he will make a lot of money from this book. Would I recommend it? No.